Maize production and processing

Ideal conditions for high value products Investment Opportunity:

Maize Production

Invest in Maize production and processing to take advantage of Rwanda's excellent growing conditions and serve a growing and under-serviced middle class in the EAC.

• Rwanda’s potential market for Maize is large with a total consumption of 550,000MT (2012)
• A long 5 years the area under cultivation increased 2.2 – fold :102,000Ha (2007) to 223,414Ha (2011) with an annual growth of 11.6%.

• In urban areas the demand in maize consumption is increasing more than in urban areas: 17% Vs ≈ 3% (2000 to 2015).
• The region total domestic consumption is increasing: 7,278,000MT (2000) to 10,215,000MT (2012).
• The average net imports are ≈ US$ 7.5M for Maize grain per year & Consumption per capita was 145Kcal/day (2009).

Rwanda's advantages

• The location is ideal to access a large regional consumer base and to benefit from the development potential of the Maizemarket, targeting Maize flour with high export market potential to Burundi and Eastern DRC.
• Maize is currently grown in all Rwandan ecologies that include semi-arid mid-altitudes (900-1450 masl), moist mid-altitudes (1450-1700masl) and highlands (>1700masl). Although they occupy more than 60 % of the country and supply approximately 45 % of national maizeproduction.
• Best yield (3 Tons /ha) in the region

Major existing compagnies

• Opportuni ty to invest in increase of Mai ze production :A large volume of mai ze is still imported from Uganda & ≈ 90% of companies operate under their installed capacitiesdue to lowquantity of rawmaterials

• Investment interests in maize processing are also highly favored by the government.